Story Highlights

After a strained 10-month search, the ATP Tour has settled on a new chief executive.

Chris Kermode, the current tournament director at London's Queen's Club event and a key figure behind the successful ATP World Tour Finals, has agreed to become chief executive and executive chairman, according to two people familiar with the search.

These people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter.

An announcement is imminent.

Kermode, a 48-year-old from Britain, is considered a compromise candidate and is little known outside the tennis world.

A former professional who reached a singles high ranking of No. 141 in the mid-1980s, Kermode served as assistant tournament director at the Wimbledon tune-up at Queen's Club before becoming director in 2007.

For the past five years, he has overseen planning and logistics at the 02 Arena in London as managing director of the World Tour Finals.

Prior to that, he worked in coaching, television and the music industry.

"Kermode's a good dude," said top-ranked doubles player Mike Bryan last week during the World Tour Finals. "I like him. He supports doubles. He's done a great job at this event. He's been good to us at Queen's."

The men's tour has been looking for a new chief since executive chairman and chief executive Brad Drewett disclosed he was suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, in January. Drewett, 54, died in May.

After months of vacancy, the tour hired global search firm Heidrick & Struggles late last summer to help expedite its efforts. Thomas Ho, a former top-100 player who competed nine years on tour, was put in charge of the search.

In meetings last month, the ATP board – comprised of three player representatives and three tournament representatives – vetted five candidates. Kermode and longtime ATP executive Mark Young, 55, emerged as the leading contenders.

The two sides remained divided until the final stages of the decision, with the tournament representatives leaning toward the USA's Young, who is head of the ATP's Americas division and is its chief legal officer. The player representatives favored Kermode.

The tournament representatives also pushed for a joint-CEO role.

Kermode will be the first chief from Europe – a reflection of the shifting balance of power in men's tennis. Currently, 15 of the top 20, and nine of the top 10-ranked players hail from Europe, among them Rafael Nadal of Spain, Andy Murray of Scotland, and Roger Federer of Switzerland.

Previous CEOs since 1990 include American Mark Miles, South African Etienne de Villiers, American Adam Helfant and Australia's Drewett.

Kermode is considered an events-management whiz with strong player ties who has been heavily involved in the growth of Britain's two biggest tournaments after Wimbledon. The two have little in common.

Queen's, which is being upgraded to a 500-level tournament in 2015, is an outdoor event at a club known for its upper crust crowds. By contrast, the indoor World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena is more rock concert with its flashy lights and loud music.

Bryan of the USA said the players were more familiar with the "personable" Kermode but that Young's long record with the tour meant he could step into the CEO's role seamlessly.

He said the tour needed a leader -- if for nothing else than to cast the deciding vote on the seven-person ATP board.

"We need a guy there to make the big decision when it needs to be done and break those ties," he said.

In a wide-ranging critique of the sports' convoluted structure last week, No. 2 Novak Djokovic expressed a similar concern.

"The system itself is so complex, and it's not working for players because ATP is 50% players, 50% tournaments, right?" the Serb said. "So every time you want to vote for something, you have to get the super majority of votes, that means four against two, which is impossible, because you're going against tournaments, and tournaments have their own rights, and it comes down to the president."